Just the Girl
by BittersweetSonata
Summary: At the threat of the drama and arts club being shut down due to lack of members and funds, Headmaster Makarov has combined it with detention. Lucy and her two friends aren't sure what to think of this, but a certain pink-headed delinquent who always manages to land himself in detention may change her mind.


**I don't know how this came to be. But it is now my glorious brainchild.**

**Stupid title is stupid.**

** Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or any of its associated characters. Nor do I own any of the brands that may be listed in this story. But I might make them up. **

** You know the drill. Pairings are: NaLu (main), Gruvia, Jerza, and GaLe. As well as some side pairings. Maybe. Probably some cute RoWen. **

** Unbeta'd and brought to you by my recent onslaught or sleep deprivation. **

** Enjoy. **

Chapter One

Now Conjoined

_{Sometimes love starts in the strangest of places} _

* * *

"Lucy! Can you believe it?! They're actually keeping the drama and arts class!"

No, the blonde hadn't believed her short blunette best friend's words when she'd first heard them. Sure, Fairy Tail Academy was filled with…er…extremely _lively _people, but only a few were actually members of the drama and arts club.

And by few, she meant _few. _

As in, Levy McGarden – the relaying messenger of this odd and surprising, but not unwelcome – piece of news, socially awkward but still sweet Juvia Lockser, and herself. Aspiring author wannabe Lucy Heartfilia.

That kind of _few. _

And because the club was so little and they never actually put on any plays or held any sort of…well, _anything _that a drama and arts club would hold because of their lack of members, there had been talk of the club being cut off from funds.

Lucy and Levy were both in the literary club as well, and so was Juvia, but that was combined with the drama and arts club because, once again, there were hardly any members. Of course, there were plenty of _other _clubs they could join.

Well…maybe not so many as it would seem.

The basketball club was mostly boys, and swordsmanship wasn't really their style. They could join the…no. Music was combined with drama and _arts _too.

So…they'd basically been kind of screwed.

The blonde and the two blunettes were quiet girls, and they mostly kept to themselves or their selective group of friends – of course, that meant themselves as well as a few other students. Their homeroom teacher, Ms. Aries, also doubled as their instructor for the drama and arts club, ad each of the girls had really bonded with her.

It would be a shame to watch all of that - their carefully built up bonds, fun times in the clubroom, discussing books and plays, painting, writing, sitting near the heater in the winter laughing their selves silly because it was so cold and they just didn't know what else to do – go to waste just because there wasn't more than three members and lack of funding.

And all four of them thought it was really going to happen.

But then headmaster Makarov Dreyar decided to combine detention with the drama and arts club, and it was saved. Although, not really.

Poor, shy and quiet Aries now had to watch over whatever rowdy and rough students the other teachers sent her way all because the duty of detention had been thrust upon her, relieving Ms. Aquarius of the job. That woman was seriously scary, and better suited for the job than Aries, but Makarov Dreyar had a _plan, _and when the old headmaster made up his mind about something, there was no changing it.

And so, that was the (rather sad and boring) tale of how the drama and arts club was saved.

But it doesn't stop there. No, the story's only just beginning.

"Isn't Mr. Darcy so _romantic_?" Levy swooned, clasping her hands and letting out a wistful breath.

Lucy laughed as they walked through the almost empty hallways to the club room. "Indeed he is."

"And his confession of love for Elizabeth. Even after all that, almost a year, he still loved her – if not more so than he had before." the vertically challenged blunette went on, dark chocolate orbs now shining like stars.

"A man like Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy is what every woman dreams of." her blonde friend agreed, nodding her head slightly. A small smirk crossed her face. "Well, maybe except for Juvia here."

She lightly elbowed the taller blunette who blushed. The three teenage girls descended the steps to the basement where their clubroom resided.

"She seems to dream of stripping black-haired boys who offer to share their umbrella on the _one day _she forgets hers."

Juvia, instead of her normal pale complexion that would make one think she never got enough vitamin D, now resembled a beet.

Levy started to laugh. "Ha ha! I remember that! It was last spring, during that week where it was constantly storming. She forgot her umbrella because her alarm clock didn't go off due to a power outage and so she ran off without it! And then it started to _really _poor down on her on her way here!"

Lucy nodded, adjusting the strap of her messenger bag. "Yes, and she's fawned after Gray Fullbuster from afar ever since." the blonde winked. "I dare say, she's even _fallen _for him nowadays."

"J-J-Juvia c-can't h-help i-it." the blunette weakly protested as they rounded the last corner before reaching their destination. "G-G-Gray-sama was k-kind to J-Juvia."

Levy smiled softly. "Oh, we know. We're sorry we teased you."

"But really," began Lucy as she reached for the doorknob, "I can't help but feel a little envious of Elizabeth. After all-," she opened the door, "Mr. Darcy did find Lydia and Wickham after she'd run off with him, and he paid for their wedding as well. Besides the fact that he helped Bingley propose to Ja-," she abruptly cut herself off, confusing her two friends.

The drama and arts clubroom looked the same as always. A few old desks were lined up in front of the even older blackboard where Ms. Aries would often write their lessons or objectives for the day or week, and her antique and grand-looking large oak desk was positioned a little off to the side. Racks full of detailed and hand-sewn costumes were pushed off to the side of the room. Several trunks filled with more of those costumes and props were positioned there as well. An old skeleton from the biology class - they'd never quite figured out how it came to be there, and even when they tried, were never able to come up with a suitable answer - was hanging on his rolling metal stand, back beside the racks of clothing. The same wooden bookshelves with books stuffed in every available space were still lined up against the far wall. The old upright piano was also stationed where they'd last left it, at the very back of the room.

Yes, their beloved clubroom was the same.

Except for one thing.

Or rather, three things.

Aries gave them a nervous smile from her seat at the grand old oak desk, then motioned for them to step inside. Lucy looked back at the two hesitant and slightly gaping teenage girls who were two of her closest and only friends. Levy seemed like she was going to say something, but apparently decided not to and closed her mouth instead. And, being the blonde's best friend that she was, but also the nervous and socially awkward blunette the seventeen-year-old had met on her first day at the Academy, gave her best friend a sharp push in the back.

Lucy, not expecting such a gesture from the girl, was taken by surprise and stumbled forward into the room. Partly because of her shock, and partly because of the sheer force Levy had put into the push. The blonde didn't even know her friend had that much strength and energy in that small body.

She managed to keep herself from falling over due to her stumbling, and stopped, half leaned over, arms out, and a look of surprise on her face. She blinked a few times, jaw slack, before she realized she wasn't alone, and that it wasn't just her two friends and favorite teacher there.

The blonde instantly straightened up, her whole body stock stiff, as a pink blush spread across her face. Levy and Juvia quickly albeit still hesitantly rushed in after her, the taller of the two blunette's unintentionally slamming the door as she did so.

Aries smiled at the girls again. "Ah, girls, have a seat." she motioned to the general area of the desks, and they shuffled awkwardly between the desks over to where they usually sat. After taking their normal seats, in a row next to each other, Aries folded her hands on top of her desk.

"As you three well know, the drama and arts club has been in trouble lately because of the lack of members and funding to keep it going." the young teacher paused, making sure her three pupils and friends were following her. "And you also know that, in order to keep it going, Headmaster Makarov has combined it with detention."

At this, the three _other _people in the room groaned, but Aries was not to be deterred.

"Seeing as how our current situation is…" she trailed off, looking from the three uncomfortable-looking girls over to the three obviously irritated and annoyed boys, "…not to anyone's satisfaction, I'm going to make a proposal."

She waited until the three boys who had been assigned to her seemed to actually follow her.

The pink-haired young teacher took a deep breath. "We'll all try to get along. I think that would be the best way to cope with this new…development and situation we've all been forced into. Yes. We'll all do our best to get along, and as long as none of you sent here from detention don't harm or upset my club members, then I won't send you back to Ms. Aquarius."

It was subtle, really, _really _subtle and hidden, but all of the students could detect the heavily veiled threat from the usually quiet, shy, and reserved teacher.

The three there for detention immediately realized their options and shuddered at the thought of having to return to the scary woman that was normally their PE and Calculus teacher. They quickly decided that they would rather take their chances with their quiet homeroom teacher and this so-called 'drama and arts club' before ever even considering going back to that devil of a woman they called their teacher.

"Is that understood?" Aries asked a little louder than usual after giving them some time to consider.

"Yes ma'am!" was the response, a chorus from the three all at once.

The young teacher smiled. "Good. Then, let's begin with introductions." she put a hand to her chest. "As you all already probably know, I am Miss Aries, your homeroom teacher and also the head leader of this club." she smiled at the taller blunette. "Why don't you go next?"

Juvia's knees began to knock together, and she was thankful that she was seated. It wasn't that she didn't like people, or that she wasn't social other than the fact that she was more often than not socially awkward, but a certain pair of dark blue eyes were on her and her heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest.

"U-um…J-Juvia L-Lockser." she managed to force the words out, although she was embarrassed at her stuttering. She wished the earth would open up and swallow her.

The only blonde in the room was next.

"My name is Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia." she introduced, her voice not faltering, but not sounding exactly confident either.

The small blunette puffed her cheeks out before making herself as little as she could. "I'm Levy McGarden." she mumbled, just barely audible.

Aries turned to the three boys sitting on the other side of the room. "And now you may go."

A dark-headed teen sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets. The unnatural lighting causing the silver cross pendant around his neck to shine. "My name is Gray Fullbuester."

Lucy barely refrained herself from saying, 'Now state your crime and why you're here.' She'd never gotten detention after all, and had always wondered what landed one there. Besides the almost everyday issues of disruptive disturbance, rough housing, and generally getting on the teacher's bad side.

The next teen, one that the blonde found especially intriguing, sighed and tugged on the white scarf around his neck. She thought it resembled dragon scales. The most striking thing about him though, was his tousled and spiky _rosy pink _hair. Not that it looked bad on him. Oh no. Never. In her opinion, he was the handsomest looking guy in the room and possibly the sexiest thing she'd ever seen and – _oh no_, she did _not _just go _there. _

She felt a blush rising on her cheeks as the boy ran a hand through his unusual hair. "Natsu Dragneel." he stated, and his deep voice sent pleasant shivers down her spine.

The last one, a rough and genuinely scary-looking guy with piercings _everywhere, _grunted and worsened his already terrible position by slouching further down into his seat. "Name's Gajeel Redfox."

"There." Aries smiled, a little less nervously. "Now how about we begin?"

* * *

**Basically the result on an idea I had Wednesday night that turned into a one-shot that turned into a short story that turned into a (possibly) long multi-chapter story. **

** And there's that. **

** This is going to be fun. **

** I have never been to detention, nor do I know what it's like. Aries has her own methods. Although, I have no problem whatsoever writing socially awkward characters. Because I am one. Not a character, at least, not that I know of, but I'm socially awkward. **

** Introverts unite individually! **

** Anyway, this is how the love story of these wonderful pairings starts. In the drama and arts club/detention. Hoho. Erza and Jellal will show up soon, and so will the interactions between our favorite couples and OTPs. **

** If you haven't figured it out already, I'm more likely to update faster and continue a story depending on the amount of reviews I get. **

** So, continue? **

** Ja ne!**

** - Sonata-chan **


End file.
